Chapter 02

[... up.]

I hear a voice in the distance.

[Wake up.]

I wake up to Shadow's voice. I open my eyes and see that it is already morning.

"Wh..."

[Shhh.]

Once I tried to speak, Shadow immediately shut me up.

[Look down there.]

I didn't know exactly where Shadow was referring to, since he's a status window with no hands or fingers, but I looked down without making a sound. I instantly saw what Shadow was referring to.

[Those are goblins.]

I nodded at his words while staring at the goblins. They were small, green, and were walking in a group. As a weapon they seemed to use a wooden club.

[I woke you up to show you their appearance, so that you can recognize them in the future.]

I waited for a while and scouted the area before I climbed off the tree. After I put my feet on the ground, I headed directly towards the river right after. Once there, I cleaned my face and drank some water.

[So why were you surprised at my name last night?]

*Pfft*

I did a spit take and then turned towards Shadow after drying my mouth.

"So you noticed?"

[There was no way I wouldn't notice. So answer me this: "How do you know my name?"]

"Okay, but I'm not too sure if you are the person I know of."

[I'll answer a question first then.]

"Were you persecuted by the military after being framed?"

[Yes, I was.]

"Then let me tell you I'm a rookie narrator who narrated your story."

[Then, are you saying I was part of a story?]

"That is technically incorrect. The narrator tells the story to the author and the author writes it down. So I guess you can call me some type of observer."

[So you are telling me that you're an observer that narrates the story to an "author"?]

"Isn't that what I just said?"

[I'm just making sure I heard it correctly.]

Shadow stopped talking for a second and then spoke again with a hint of sadness.

[Were you not able to help the people when they were in need?]

"I don't know what you are talking about, but I am just an observer, not some type of god."

[Wait, how come you don't know what happened?]

"I couldn't continue narrating your story, I was sent to this world before I could continue narrating it."

[How did you get to this world?]

"I was hiding in the author's closet and accidentally fell asleep. Next thing I know, I woke up here."

[Is that so?]

"Sorry about changing the subject, but can you explain the 'skills' you were talking about."

Not knowing where the conversation was heading towards, I decided to change the subject.

[Skills are things that you train. If you fish you get a skill related to fishing, you can level up that skill by repeatedly using it, and you can even evolve it after it becomes max level.]

"What is the level cap for skills?"

[They vary from skill to skill. Some go up to lvl 10 and some go even higher. There's even skills related to combat. Some skills are for physical combat and some skills are related to magicians.]

"There's magic in this world? So is there also mana?"

[Yes, there is. In fact there is a skill I can give you.]

"There is!?"

[Yes, it is related to lightning.]

"How did you acquire such a skill?"

[No clue.]

"Okay, what is the skill called?"

[It is called electro shock.]

"What does it do?"

[At the moment it can only stun opponents.]

"And later on?"

[Don't worry about that just yet.]

"How do I use it?"

[Just say the name of the skill to activate it.]

"Can I cast it without saying the name out loud?"

[Maybe in the future when you have more mastery of the skill, but you can't do so right now.]

But it's so cringey saying stuff out loud.

I murmured the words that were told to me.

"Electro shock."

Small amounts of lightning came out of my hands and it stayed there for about three seconds.

Throughout the day I practiced the skill's timing whenever I could.

[Stop walking.]

I was concentrating on the skill when Shadow spoke to me.

"What's wrong?"

[Can't you see in front of you?]

I looked in front of me and saw two goblins looking at me. I was about to turn around and make a run for it.

[I wouldn't advise doing that.]

"Why not? I can't fight these goblins, I'm too weak to face off against them."

[No, it's not that I want you to face them. If there were only one I would tell you to try practicing against it, but right now you are surrounded. I didn't notice before, but there are around seven more hiding around the area, waiting to ambush you.]

"How do you see that?"

[I can see their body parts sticking out in certain areas.]

Oh, now that he mentions it I can see it too.

"Hey Shadow, where's the techno wolf's cave you were talking about?"

[You see that rocky structure in the distance?]

"The one in between the two goblins in front of me?"

[That's the cave.]

I walked close to the two goblins in front of me. Once I got close enough to them I used electro shock so that they wouldn't be able to attack me for a couple of seconds. When they were electrocuted I ran towards the cave, making sure to zig zag through some trees so that I wouldn't be hit by any projectiles thrown at me. Once I reached the cave, I went through the entrance, but the second I entered a crimson wolf tried to dash right past me but couldn't do so as it seemed to have hit an invisible barrier.

I looked at the entrance and saw that the goblins were no longer following me. I then looked back at the techno wolf who was standing up from its collapsed state. The wolf then looked in my direction and spoke.

"What the hell are 'you' looking at?"

"Techno wolves could speak!?"